Status of church

[Peacefully]

23 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

Our ward is back to regular church next week! Doesn't mean I'm attending yet though.

We decided we were ready since we had both vaccines but everyone needs to decide for themselves when the time is right:)

[Danzo]

On 4/19/2021 at 4:40 PM, filovirus said:

Oregon. The state that seems to be permanently closed.

I'm in oregon and we have been meeting in person for two hours since march.

[Raingirl]

42 minutes ago, Danzo said:

I'm in oregon and we have been meeting in person for two hours since march.

I’m also in Oregon and we’re still mostly virtual. Limited in-person attendance for Sacrament with simultaneous online attendance. Second hour completely virtual.  Plus, many counties went back into ‘extreme risk’ as of Friday.  Apparently, we’re outpacing the rest of the country in rising cases 

[Tacenda]

1 hour ago, Peacefully said:

We decided we were ready since we had both vaccines but everyone needs to decide for themselves when the time is right:)

I have been inactive, so easy for me to say that. I don't mind watching through zoom though. I've been vaccinated too. I'm sure this is exciting news for a ward that has met together for years and miss one another. We are new to the area and ward, so I've not gotten the connection and it's a ward that is all over the place in our town, in my former ward it was two streets next to each other this ward goes clear across town, it's really odd and even in Utah. Never had a ward like this. 

[Danzo]

46 minutes ago, Raingirl said:

I’m also in Oregon and we’re still mostly virtual. Limited in-person attendance for Sacrament with simultaneous online attendance. Second hour completely virtual.  Plus, many counties went back into ‘extreme risk’ as of Friday.  Apparently, we’re outpacing the rest of the country in rising cases 

I am in clackamas county. What part of Oregon are you in?

[Peacefully]

1 hour ago, Tacenda said:

I have been inactive, so easy for me to say that. I don't mind watching through zoom though. I've been vaccinated too. I'm sure this is exciting news for a ward that has met together for years and miss one another. We are new to the area and ward, so I've not gotten the connection and it's a ward that is all over the place in our town, in my former ward it was two streets next to each other this ward goes clear across town, it's really odd and even in Utah. Never had a ward like this. 

I don’t mind watching through Zoom, either. I’ve only been in my ward a couple years and one of the years has been the pandemic year. When I went back, there were so many new people I didn’t know, and still don’t. I kind of got used to staying home and I liked it. If it weren’t for my husband, I might have stayed home longer, but he really likes being around people and being part of the ward. I’m trying to remember that I am there to commune with my Heavenly Father and feel the spirit. I don’t necessarily need to make friends although it would be a nice by-product. I guess that is why I like the primary. You always know where you stand with kids:)

[Ginger Snaps]

N. CA. We’ve been back to 2-hr in-person since . . . March? Maybe February. Technically we can have 50% of the building capacity, but our entire ward attendance does not rise to that level.
 

We started singing last week or the week before.  Meetings are still broadcast through both the church broadcast link and Zoom webinar, and it’s likely to continue for a while; apparently they’ve got members tuning in who haven’t come in person for years and years and they don’t want to cut that lifeline. 

Masking is nearly 100% in our ward, but our Stake Pres has been pretty insistent about it. However, I hear from family that at least one other ward in the stake is not so compliant. 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Ginger Snaps

[Raingirl]

1 hour ago, Danzo said:

I am in clackamas county. What part of Oregon are you in?

Multnomah

[Tacenda]

2 hours ago, Peacefully said:

I don’t mind watching through Zoom, either. I’ve only been in my ward a couple years and one of the years has been the pandemic year. When I went back, there were so many new people I didn’t know, and still don’t. I kind of got used to staying home and I liked it. If it weren’t for my husband, I might have stayed home longer, but he really likes being around people and being part of the ward. I’m trying to remember that I am there to commune with my Heavenly Father and feel the spirit. I don’t necessarily need to make friends although it would be a nice by-product. I guess that is why I like the primary. You always know where you stand with kids:)

Primary was my favorite, I have many awesome memories of church life back when.

[Tacenda]

We're about back to normal, here's an email I got today:

Brothers & Sisters -

Last Sunday during sacrament meeting it was announced that after consultation with the stake presidency and the other bishops within the stake, that it is time for us to return a normal meeting schedule.  On Mother's Day (May 9th) and the following week, May 16th, all members of the ward are invited to attend and we will hold a normal sacrament meeting that will be 60 minutes in length and we will have the ordinance of the sacrament within the meeting as well, not at the end of the meeting as we have been doing.  Sacrament meeting will be the only in-person meeting we will hold these two Sundays.  Zoom broadcasts of 2nd hour classes will still be held each of these Sundays as well.  

Beginning May 23rd, we will resume our normal, pre-COVID two-hour block with in-person Relief Society/Priesthood/Young Women/Primary/Nursery classes following sacrament meeting.  No Zoom broadcast of 2nd hour classes.  These will be discontinued as of May 23rd.  

A couple of notes:

• All members are encouraged to attend the meetings each week going forward. There is no more alphabetic separation.
• Our sacrament meeting start time has recently changed, it is now 9:00 AM.  This is to allow the use of the building by a Young Single Adult ward from Kaysville.  Their sacrament meeting will begin at Noon.
• We will continue to separate pews and rows of folding chairs for the time being to allow for appropriate distancing.
• We will place the hymn books in the holders on the back of the pews in the chapel and on the sills of the old windows in the gym.  If you would like to use them, please do so.  You are also welcome to use your electronic device to access the hymns.
• We still encourage the wearing of masks for the time being.
• If you feel sick, please stay home.  We will continue to broadcast sacrament meeting via Zoom.
• The approval to administer the sacrament in your home has been removed - except for those who have explicit approval from the bishop to continue to do so.
• Weekly youth activities will also resume beginning Wednesday, May 26th.
• Primary Activity Days activities will also resume.  Meeting schedule to be determined.

In advance of returning to our normal meeting schedule we need to deep clean the building.  Due to a number of interior finish upgrades that have taken place over the last few months, there is a layer of dust on most every surface within the building.  We need to deep clean the bathrooms and clean all of the glass entry doors.  We are asking everyone who is physically able, to meet at the church building this Saturday (May 8th) at 9:00 AM to accomplish this cleaning.  We have some cleaning supplies/tools at the church but you may want to bring your own to ensure you have appropriate materials to assist with the cleaning.  

We appreciate your willingness to meet as a ward and to also be aware of the health and welfare of others as you do.

The Park Ward Bishopric

[InCognitus]

On 5/2/2021 at 7:44 PM, Ginger Snaps said:

Masking is nearly 100% in our ward, but our Stake Pres has been pretty insistent about it. However, I hear from family that at least one other ward in the stake is not so compliant. 

This has been a big problem in our ward.  We are starting in person second hour in a couple of weeks, and each week in sacrament meeting for the last month, the person conducting has read the letter from the area seventy listing the things that must be done to qualify for meeting in person for second hour, and one of them is that masks must be worn.  And every week there is a large group of about five families that sit on one side of the chapel that refuse to wear masks, and all of them are long time good members of the ward.  

I honestly don't understand their attitude, because their behavior is keeping some members from coming back to church who would otherwise like to be there, but don't feel safe in an environment where people are not following the guidelines.  One person even suggested that we should have a separate sacrament meeting for the people who want to wear masks and another for those who don't want to wear masks (which comes across to me as a choice between going to "the ward that wants to follow the leaders" and "the ward that doesn't want to follow the leaders").  Of course that idea was vetoed.

I could say a lot more on this topic, but I would risk getting preachy.  I've been doing my best to try to understand the non-mask wearers point of view, and I'm having big problems doing that.  I love those members too, and so it really pains me.

[Danzo]

19 hours ago, InCognitus said:

This has been a big problem in our ward.  We are starting in person second hour in a couple of weeks, and each week in sacrament meeting for the last month, the person conducting has read the letter from the area seventy listing the things that must be done to qualify for meeting in person for second hour, and one of them is that masks must be worn.  And every week there is a large group of about five families that sit on one side of the chapel that refuse to wear masks, and all of them are long time good members of the ward.  

I honestly don't understand their attitude, because their behavior is keeping some members from coming back to church who would otherwise like to be there, but don't feel safe in an environment where people are not following the guidelines.  One person even suggested that we should have a separate sacrament meeting for the people who want to wear masks and another for those who don't want to wear masks (which comes across to me as a choice between going to "the ward that wants to follow the leaders" and "the ward that doesn't want to follow the leaders").  Of course that idea was vetoed.

I could say a lot more on this topic, but I would risk getting preachy.  I've been doing my best to try to understand the non-mask wearers point of view, and I'm having big problems doing that.  I love those members too, and so it really pains me.

I think the ones who don't want to wear a mask 

1.  Aren't convinced it is effective

2. Resent having people tell them what to do.

3. Think mask wearing as a performance over substance

 

I would respond that wearing a white shirt and tie to church

1.  isn't really effecttive in preventing sin

2. We do it because it is expected and are told to do it

3.  It is performance over substance

 

Probably the same people who object to masks are more than happy to wear a white shirt and tie.

At least that is how I explain it.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Danzo

[bluebell]

23 hours ago, Tacenda said:

We're about back to normal, here's an email I got today:

Brothers & Sisters -

Last Sunday during sacrament meeting it was announced that after consultation with the stake presidency and the other bishops within the stake, that it is time for us to return a normal meeting schedule.  On Mother's Day (May 9th) and the following week, May 16th, all members of the ward are invited to attend and we will hold a normal sacrament meeting that will be 60 minutes in length and we will have the ordinance of the sacrament within the meeting as well, not at the end of the meeting as we have been doing.  Sacrament meeting will be the only in-person meeting we will hold these two Sundays.  Zoom broadcasts of 2nd hour classes will still be held each of these Sundays as well.  

Beginning May 23rd, we will resume our normal, pre-COVID two-hour block with in-person Relief Society/Priesthood/Young Women/Primary/Nursery classes following sacrament meeting.  No Zoom broadcast of 2nd hour classes.  These will be discontinued as of May 23rd.  

A couple of notes:

• All members are encouraged to attend the meetings each week going forward. There is no more alphabetic separation.
• Our sacrament meeting start time has recently changed, it is now 9:00 AM.  This is to allow the use of the building by a Young Single Adult ward from Kaysville.  Their sacrament meeting will begin at Noon.
• We will continue to separate pews and rows of folding chairs for the time being to allow for appropriate distancing.
• We will place the hymn books in the holders on the back of the pews in the chapel and on the sills of the old windows in the gym.  If you would like to use them, please do so.  You are also welcome to use your electronic device to access the hymns.
• We still encourage the wearing of masks for the time being.
• If you feel sick, please stay home.  We will continue to broadcast sacrament meeting via Zoom.
• The approval to administer the sacrament in your home has been removed - except for those who have explicit approval from the bishop to continue to do so.
• Weekly youth activities will also resume beginning Wednesday, May 26th.
• Primary Activity Days activities will also resume.  Meeting schedule to be determined.

In advance of returning to our normal meeting schedule we need to deep clean the building.  Due to a number of interior finish upgrades that have taken place over the last few months, there is a layer of dust on most every surface within the building.  We need to deep clean the bathrooms and clean all of the glass entry doors.  We are asking everyone who is physically able, to meet at the church building this Saturday (May 8th) at 9:00 AM to accomplish this cleaning.  We have some cleaning supplies/tools at the church but you may want to bring your own to ensure you have appropriate materials to assist with the cleaning.  

We appreciate your willingness to meet as a ward and to also be aware of the health and welfare of others as you do.

 

Hey Tacenda, do you want your ward name to be publicly known?  Might want to edit that if possible if not (I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but coupled with the name of the town it would be easy to find your ward, if you care).

I wish this was us but despite the fact that we are in the same county (probably the same town) my stake president (love him) is still going strong with covid restrictions (though our youth have been meeting regularly on weekdays since school started, and our primary activities have been happening since January, so at least we have that).

Edited May 8, 2021 by bluebell

[Duncan]

All of church is online now, nothing in meeting anymore. We have Stake Conference next week, so a virtual conference will be interesting to say the least! it will be our first Stake Conference since Oct. 2019 There will be some boundary changes so we'll see what happens

[Calm]

And you need to edit your post as you quoted it.  

[Stargazer]

30 minutes ago, bluebell said:

Might want to edit that if possible

As Calm said, you'll need to edit your quote of her post, too.

[MiserereNobis]

The Catholic parish I attend is in El Paso, TX. It's just across the border from where I live, but it's the nearest parish to offer the traditional Latin mass. We are at 50% capacity, which is about 150 people. Three masses are offered each Sunday, so the entire parish is easily served. Confession was moved from the confessional into a more open setting (poor Father sitting in the confessional while scores of people breathe into it wasn't very safe). I'd say about half wear masks. The schola chants and the choir sings and God is worshipped.

[mfbukowski]

16 hours ago, bluebell said:

Hey Tacenda, do you want your ward name to be publicly known?  Might want to edit that if possible if not (I don't think there's anything wrong with it, but coupled with the name of the town it would be easy to find your ward, if you care).

I wish this was us but despite the fact that we are in the same county (probably the same town) my stake president (love him) is still going strong with covid restrictions (though our youth have been meeting regularly on weekdays since school started, and our primary activities have been happening since January, so at least we have that).

In my area, it is the area authority Seventy who makes these decisions. 

Interesting 

[bluebell]

3 hours ago, mfbukowski said:

In my area, it is the area authority Seventy who makes these decisions. 

Interesting 

Tacenda and I have the same area authority Seventy.  But our stakes have been handling things very differently.

Edited May 8, 2021 by bluebell

[mfbukowski]

1 hour ago, bluebell said:

Tacenda and I have the same area authority Seventy.  But are stakes have been handling things very differently.

Seems odd to me.  I guess they forgot to call me for my opinion. 

 

[mfbukowski]

On 5/6/2021 at 8:59 PM, InCognitus said:

This has been a big problem in our ward.  We are starting in person second hour in a couple of weeks, and each week in sacrament meeting for the last month, the person conducting has read the letter from the area seventy listing the things that must be done to qualify for meeting in person for second hour, and one of them is that masks must be worn.  And every week there is a large group of about five families that sit on one side of the chapel that refuse to wear masks, and all of them are long time good members of the ward.  

I honestly don't understand their attitude, because their behavior is keeping some members from coming back to church who would otherwise like to be there, but don't feel safe in an environment where people are not following the guidelines.  One person even suggested that we should have a separate sacrament meeting for the people who want to wear masks and another for those who don't want to wear masks (which comes across to me as a choice between going to "the ward that wants to follow the leaders" and "the ward that doesn't want to follow the leaders").  Of course that idea was vetoed.

I could say a lot more on this topic, but I would risk getting preachy.  I've been doing my best to try to understand the non-mask wearers point of view, and I'm having big problems doing that.  I love those members too, and so it really pains me.

I think a lot of it has to do with political affiliation.   Sorry for mentioning the P word, but I won't take it farther.  Those with the ears to hear, let them hear. 

[Tacenda]

19 hours ago, Calm said:

And you need to edit your post as you quoted it.  

No need. I'm not worried. 🙂

[BlueDreams]

On 5/6/2021 at 9:59 PM, InCognitus said:

This has been a big problem in our ward.  We are starting in person second hour in a couple of weeks, and each week in sacrament meeting for the last month, the person conducting has read the letter from the area seventy listing the things that must be done to qualify for meeting in person for second hour, and one of them is that masks must be worn.  And every week there is a large group of about five families that sit on one side of the chapel that refuse to wear masks, and all of them are long time good members of the ward.  

I honestly don't understand their attitude, because their behavior is keeping some members from coming back to church who would otherwise like to be there, but don't feel safe in an environment where people are not following the guidelines.  One person even suggested that we should have a separate sacrament meeting for the people who want to wear masks and another for those who don't want to wear masks (which comes across to me as a choice between going to "the ward that wants to follow the leaders" and "the ward that doesn't want to follow the leaders").  Of course that idea was vetoed.

I could say a lot more on this topic, but I would risk getting preachy.  I've been doing my best to try to understand the non-mask wearers point of view, and I'm having big problems doing that.  I love those members too, and so it really pains me.

Yup! My ward (and stake especially) decided to open up I think around the same time UT dropped mask mandates, If I’m remembering the timeline correctly. It was definitely nearer the beginning of when vaccines were available to the general public. My stake presidency haven’t really ever taken this super seriously and the announcement included...let’s call it a nudge...To get back to physically attending. One is a doctor, which irritates me even more, because people take his lackadaisical attitude as medically authoritative....even though it runs counter to public health experts and epidemiologists actually qualified to make these calls. This has not been an easy issue for me either. I definitely don’t feel safe around people unmasked if I don’t know whether they‘ve been vax’d or not. My daughter has a genetic disorder that makes it risky for her to get covid. Because it’s very rare (her specific type of the disorder is the only one in the state). There’s no research with what the potential effect could be on her.  She’s in the younger cohort who won’t have potential FDA emergency approval for vaccinations until the end of the year. A lot of our personal past “normal” won’t fully happen until then. We had our first in person guest inside our house in a year this week. And for Mother’s Day, with one side of my family, we got to visit in person for the first time in almost a year (they were all fully vaccinated). 
 

To say I think my stake’s decision is too fast and too loose would be an understatement. I’ve gone through different stages of trying to understand those who are reticent to follow basic guidelines in and out of church. At first I wondered if I would have been as strict if my daughter was “normal.” At first this worked... but at some point I know my personal self well enough that I wouldn’t have been as cavalier before becoming a mother to a special needs child either. So that stopped working. Then I went to diving into the mindsets and perspectives. This helped me understand them....but it actually fed a level of anger and hopelessness than alleviate it. Understanding and being able to map the views didn’t change the fact that I find their viewpoint and practices extremely problematic or just plain wrong. And now I’m working on practicing forgiveness. Literally reading a book on it (by Desmond Tutu...really good book). That is probably helping the most. The other two assumed for me that they had to be a little right or justified in their actions. Forgiveness does not. In fact it assumes my truth: that their insistence on “freedom” inevitably restricts mine and puts the progress we’ve made at risk and helped nudge up unnecessary deaths by a large factor in our country. But it gives a back door to empathy in that I too have likely done things that have inadvertently hurt others as well.  
 

With luv, 

BD 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by BlueDreams

[rongo]

We were told yesterday that we are "close" to having normal church. What's interesting is that I have been harsh on the Area Seventy, because the stake president has blamed our slow opening on him (we are an island in a sea of stakes that have long been back to second hour). There was a Freudian slip this week --- the stake YW presidency forwarded an email from that Area Seventy regarding a devotional the Area Presidency is doing (Zoom), and they want pictures of all the youth in the area for a slide show. He instructed people to get the word out in our in-person 2nd hour Sunday School/YM/YW meetings, so it was clear that he assumes we are already having 2nd hour! So, it has been our stake president all along (probably more his wife, actually) behind our glacial re-opening. 

[mfbukowski]

It's weird that stake presidents are not following Area Authorities, in the face of members who also can see what the AA has directed.

Does that mean that no one has to follow what SP's have directed?

Pretty weird example for the members!